Athletic sock

ABSTRACT

A sock for use with an athletic protector comprises a leg section formed from a first substantially elastic material and a pocket comprising a second substantially elastic material coupled to an inside front portion of the leg section.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to socks for athletic wear andmore particularly to an athletic sock to accommodate a protective devicefor the user to guard against injury or protect from aggravation ofpreexisting injuries.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the growing numbers of adults and children participating inathletic contests such as soccer, basketball, baseball and other sports,it has become increasingly significant that injuries be prevented and/orat least minimized as possible. Soccer players, for example, arefrequently struck along the shin areas of their legs during play whichcan result in cuts, bruises or even broken bones. To prevent suchinjuries, shin guards have been in use many years formed from rigidmaterials such as plastic or metal which are attached by the use ofstraps and other means to hold the guards in place on the players' legsduring the rigors of the game.

One conventional approach is to utilize two pairs of socks such that onepair of socks is placed directly on the user's leg under the pads andthe other pair over the pads. This approach has proven, however, to bequite unsatisfactory. Specifically, this technique necessitates thewearing of soccer shoes which are oversized in order to accommodate theadded thickness due to the wearing of a second athletic sock over thefoot area. Also, flexibility of the ankle which is required for playingsoccer is substantially reduced.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,126 is directed to a sock used for playing soccerwhich accommodates a shin guard. U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,791 is directed toa sock having a exterior compartments for containing articles and a cuffwhich folds over for locking purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,817illustrates a sock having an extended leg portion which is folded over ashin guard. Each of these prior art approaches have deficiencies,however, that the present invention overcomes. For example, U.S. Pat.No. 4,699,126 utilizes two layers of material overlying the user's leg.This approach adds weight to the user's leg as well as increasing thelevel of constriction felt by the user. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No.5,581,817 utilizes one layer of material which is doubled over causingthe same negative results referred to above with respect to the '126patent.

There is a need for an athletic sock that accommodates a protectivedevice that does not constrict the user's leg nor impede movement at theankle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the aforementioned disadvantages of conventional bonding tools,the present invention relates to sock for use with an athleticprotector, such as a shin guard. The athletic sock comprises a legsection formed from a first substantially elastic material and a pocketcomprising a second substantially elastic material coupled to an insidefront portion of the leg section.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an inside upperportion of the pocket is free from attachment to the inside portion ofthe sock such that the athletic protector may be disposed within thepocket from the upper portion of the pocket.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, the pocketfurther comprises means for maintaining the athletic protector withinthe pocket.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the pocketis comprised of a single sheet of material.

According to a yet a further aspect of the present invention, the pocketis formed from a tubular material positioned substantially flat againstonly a portion of the inner portion of the leg section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is best understood from the following detailed descriptionwhen read in connection with the accompanying drawing. It is emphasizedthat, according to common practice, the various features of the drawingare not to scale. On the contrary, the dimensions of the variousfeatures are arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity. Included inthe drawing are the following Figures:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a first exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 with the sock turned insideout;

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, a first exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention is illustrated. As shown in FIG. 1, athletic sock 100 has aleg section 102, ankle section 104 foot section 110 and cuff section108. In one exemplary embodiment, athletic sock 100 may also include aheel portion (not shown) disposed between foot section 110 and anklesection 104. Athletic sock 100 may be formed from a variety ofconventional materials, such as cotton for example, with or withoutelastic components. Material 106 is coupled to the inside of frontportion 112 of leg section 102 to form a pocket 114 at the inside offront portion 112. Material 106 may be a cotton based material or aresilient material such as Lycra® for example. Material 106 may be asingle sheet of material or may be a section of tubular material foldedagainst the inside of front portion 112. In either case, the edges ofmaterial 106 are sewn or otherwise attached to front portion 112 basedon the size of the guard to be inserted into pocket 114. As referred toherein, front portion 112 may comprise a portion of the side sections ofleg portion 102.

Referring now to FIG. 2, sock 100 is shown turned inside-out to betterillustrate the forming of pocket 114. As shown in FIG. 2, material 106is attached to the inside front section of leg section 102 along allsides of material 106 except at the top portion. In this way a shinguard 120 (shown in FIG. 4) may be easily inserted into pocket 114 fromthe top of the sock. As also shown in FIG. 2, pocket 114 is preferablypositioned above ankle portion 104 to minimize interference with theuser's movement during play. Pocket 114 is also preferably positionedbelow cuff portion 108.

Pocket 114 may also include a closure 115 to maintain the shin guard inposition during play. It is contemplated that closure 115 may be anelasticized portion of material 106 or may be a combination of hook andloop material, for example.

FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of athletic sock 100 furtherillustrating the formation of pocket 114 at the front inside portion ofsock 100.

FIG. 4 illustrates a sectional side view of sock 100. As shown in FIG.4, pocket 114 is formed either by section 112 and a single layer ofmaterial 106. As discussed above, if material 106 is a tubular material,it may be folded against the inside of front portion 112 and attachedthereto to form pocket 114 between opposing walls of material 106. Shinguard 120 is easily inserted into sock 100 either prior to or after sock100 is placed on the user's leg. During breaks in play the user may alsoeasily remove shin guard 120 from the inside pocket 114, by simplyreaching into the top to sock 100, and reinsert shin guard 120 when playresumes. It is also notable that shin guard does not directly contactthe user's leg thus minimizing the prevalence of perspiration thattypically occurs when a shin guard is place directly against the skin.This has the added benefit of reducing sweat on the shin guard therebyincreasing the level of hygiene in that socks are readily laundered,while shin guards are not.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed herein, it will be understood that such embodiments areprovided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes andsubstitutions will occur to those skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that theappended claims cover all such variations as fall within the spirit andscope of the invention.

1. A sock for use with an athletic protector, the sock comprising: a legsection formed from a first substantially elastic material; and a pocketcomprising a second substantially elastic material coupled to an insidefront portion of the leg section.
 2. The sock according to claim 1,wherein an inside upper portion of the pocket is free from attachment tothe inside portion of the sock such that the athletic protector may bedisposed within the pocket from the upper portion of the pocket.
 3. Thesock according to claim 1, wherein the pocket receives the athleticprotector.
 4. The sock according to claim 1, wherein the pocket furthercomprises means for maintaining the athletic protector within thepocket.
 5. The sock according to claim 4, wherein the means formaintaining is a hook and loop material.
 6. The sock according to claim4, wherein the means for maintaining is an elastic portion formed at anupper portion of the pocket.
 7. The sock according to claim 1, whereinthe athletic protector is a shin guard.
 8. The sock according to claim1, further comprising a foot portion coupled to or unitary with the legportion.
 9. The sock according to claim 1, wherein the firstsubstantially elastic material is primarily cotton based and the secondsubstantially elastic material is substantially synthetic based.
 10. Thesock according to claim 1, wherein the pocket has a front portion and arear portion, the front portion positioned adjacent the inside portionof the leg section and the rear portion positioned in contact with auser's leg so as to maintain the athletic protector in position againstthe user's leg.
 11. The sock according to claim 1, further comprising acuff portion coupled to or unitary with the leg portion, a top portionof the pocket disposed below the cuff portion.
 12. The sock according toclaim 1, wherein the pocket is comprised of a single sheet of material.13. The sock according to claim 1, wherein the pocket is a tubularmaterial positioned substantially flat against only a portion of theinner portion of the leg section.
 14. The sock according to claim 1,wherein the pocket has a length substantially conforming to a length ofthe athletic protector.
 15. A sock for use with a shin guard, the sockcomprising: a leg section, an ankle section and a foot section; and asheet of material coupled to a side portion and a front portion of theleg section to form a pocket to receive the shin guard, a top edge ofthe pocket positioned below the top edge of the leg section and a bottomedge of the pocket positioned above the ankle section.
 16. The sockaccording to claim 15, wherein the pocket further comprises means formaintaining the shin guard within the pocket.
 17. The sock according toclaim 16, wherein the means for maintaining is a hook and loop material.18. The sock according to claim 16, wherein the means for maintaining isan elastic portion formed at an upper portion of the pocket.
 19. A sockfor use with a shin guard, the sock comprising: a leg section, an anklesection and a foot section; and a tubular material folded against andcoupled to an inside front portion of the leg section to form a pockettherein, a top edge of the pocket positioned below the top edge of theleg section and a bottom edge of the pocket positioned above the anklesection.
 20. The sock according to claim 19, wherein the pocket furthercomprises means for maintaining the athletic protector within thepocket.